1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a decorative component, designed, in particular, to be integrated in a piece of internal trim of a vehicle, as well as to a process for manufacturing such a decorative component, to a use thereof and to a process for manufacturing a piece of internal trim of a vehicle, for example a door panel, implementing said decorative component.
However, although more especially intended for such manufacturing processes, the component according to the invention can also be used for the manufacture of other types of part.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the present time, there are known pieces of internal trim for vehicles constituted by a layer of material, referred to as a xe2x80x98carrierxe2x80x99, having locally at least one aspect conferring area.
Said aspect conferring area is defined by a component constituted by a sheet of material, which is most often textile, and is secured to a stiffening insert provided beneath the entire face of said sheet opposite to its visible face. Said component is fixed to the carrier, the two pieces being produced previously and separately, according to the desired shapes.
Such processes thus necessitate additional operations on said decorative component, which increases the time taken to manufacture the piece of trim. Furthermore, the component is fixed to the carrier most often by gluing, welding, stapling, clipping and/or screwing, whereas such fixing methods can prove inadequate. Indeed, when such solutions are adopted, the edges of the component remain fragile and/or creases sometimes appear on its surface.
This being the case, in order to avoid having to effect additional operations, processes have been developed whereby the carrier is produced directly beneath the component, previously formed, and placed in a tool designed to mold the carrier. Said carrier is then produced by injection from different points for introduction of the material.
Nonetheless, such solutions lead to the presence of weld marks in areas in which the flows of injected material meet, and which may be partly visible, and/or lead to implementation problems, in particular owing to the high pressures that they may necessitate and which are liable to damage the aspect conferring area.
Steps thus have to be taken to ensure that the cladding is not wrinkled, does not tear, and is not excessively compressed, which could give it an undesirable shiny appearance.
The object of the present invention is to provide a decorative component, including a sheet of material having an aesthetic appearance, and a process for manufacturing a piece of interior trim of a vehicle using such a decorative component, which overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by facilitating optimum positioning and fixing of the sheet of material, even at its periphery.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a decorative component and a process for manufacturing a piece of interior trim of a vehicle using such a component which makes it possible to dispense with additional operations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a decorative component and a process for manufacturing a piece of interior trim of a vehicle which make it possible to prevent, at the time of mounting the component, the appearance of weld marks, at the very least visible in part.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a decorative component and a process for manufacturing a piece of interior trim of a vehicle using a component which make it possible to implement low pressures at the time of manufacture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a decorative component and a process for manufacturing a piece of interior trim of a vehicle which conserves material and simplifies tools that have to be used.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will emerge in the course of the description that follows, which is provided only by way of illustration and is not intended to limit same.
The invention relates, in the first place, to a decorative component, in particular one designed to form a piece of trim or to be integrated in a piece of interior trim of a vehicle, constituted by at least a sheet of material, provided with stiffening means and having, at least locally, on at least one of its faces, said aspect conferring faces, conferring an aesthetic and/or comfortable aspect, characterized by the fact that said stiffening means are constituted by a bead, whether continuous or discontinuous, of material, provided on one part at least of the periphery of said sheet in order to fix its shape according to that desired for said component.
The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing such a component, in which said sheet is shaped according to a desired profile and said peripheral bead is produced, and to a use of said component in a tool in respect of which said component is held and positioned by said peripheral bead
The invention further relates to a process for manufacturing a piece of interior trim of a vehicle, for example a door panel, constituted by a layer of material, referred to as a carrier, having locally at least one aspect conferring area, characterized by the fact that:
in a first stage, a decorative component as described above is produced;
in a second stage, separate from the first one, the connection between said carrier and said decorative component is ensured in such a way that the aspect conferring area of said piece is defined, at least in part, by said aspect conferring face of the component.